United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN envoy for the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday warned of a risk of violence as the country heads toward elections in December. DR Congo is in the grip of a “shocking” humanitarian crisis with 4.5 million people in need of …
Read More »Without US, 11 Asia-Pacific states to sign trade deal
Santiago, Chile | AFP | Eleven Asia-Pacific nations on Thursday are to sign a slimmed-down trade pact to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump seeks to raise them after withdrawing from the deal last year. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have represented 40 percent of the global economy …
Read More »US pushes UN to consider arms embargo on South Sudan
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Wednesday circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution that threatens to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and to take “all appropriate measures” against those blocking peace efforts. The draft text obtained by AFP demands an end to …
Read More »Defiant Pochettino proud of Spurs despite Juve collapse
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Mauricio Pochettino insisted Tottenham had nothing to be ashamed of after three minutes of madness ended their Champions League challenge in a painful 2-1 defeat against Juventus. Tottenham were on course to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011 when Son Heung-Min …
Read More »Boko Haram kidnap raises school safety, education fears
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Boko Haram’s abduction of 110 girls in northeast Nigeria has prompted fresh fears about safety at schools, nearly four years after a similar kidnapping led to promises of better security. The disappearance of the students from Dapchi, in Yobe state, on February 19, also threatens …
Read More »18 workers abducted in DR Congo wildlife park
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Eighteen employees of a gorilla sanctuary in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been abducted by a militia group, sources said on Wednesday. An official with an NGO said the abduction took place on Monday in the area of Nzovu, which lies in the …
Read More »In the Alps, traffickers prey on migrants and rescuers alike
Montgenèvre, France | AFP | Five African migrants stumble through the snow, exhausted and numb, abandoned hours earlier by a smuggler who left them to make their own way down the mountain from Italy into France. They are among dozens who have been tricked in recent weeks into paying hundreds …
Read More »Graft, deprivation sharpen Angola’s malaria outbreak
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Heavy rains, filthy conditions, medicine shortages and endemic corruption have combined to make a lethal malarial cocktail for Angola. Since the start of the year more than 300,000 cases of the disease have been reported across the country, leading to at least a thousand deaths. …
Read More »PSG project called into question after latest European let-down
Paris, France | AFP | After an honourable defeat to Barcelona on away goals in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2013, Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi stated the club’s objective was to win the competition “in the next five years”. That deadline expired with Tuesday’s limp defeat to holders …
Read More »Klopp targets more after Liverpool end long wait for last eight
Liverpool, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted the Champions League quarter-finals is where his side belong after ending a nine-year wait to reach the last eight on Tuesday. Despite settling for a goalless draw in an uninspiring last 16, second leg at Anfield, Liverpool eased past …
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